The U.S. suspended pork imports from Poland last week after an outbreak of African Swine Fever in that country. Pork Business Dot Com says the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also has concerns over Polish export protocols. APHIS discovered that a Polish export facility shipping pork to the U.S. didn’t follow the requirements designed to help prevent the …
Online Grocery Sales to Quadruple
Over the next five years, online grocery sales are expected to more than quadruple between now and 2023. More web-based options will become available and more consumers are expected to give it a try. The prediction comes from a new forecast by market-research firm Packaged Facts. Over the past five years, online grocery sales have already tripled. A case study …
Fried, Caldwell Face Off Over Medical Marijuana, Water
Democrat Nikki Fried, a medical-marijuana lobbyist, had to defend her desire to move the state’s oversight of medical marijuana into the agency she wants to run. Her Republican opponent, state Rep. Matt Caldwell, was questioned about his support for a bill that delayed for 20 years an unmet deadline to reduce nutrients flowing into Lake Okeechobee. Fried and Caldwell — …
GPC Hurricane Michael Update: Impact on Georgia’s Peanut Industry
Hurricane Michael devastated Georgia agriculture during the most inopportune time; harvest season for many agricultural commodities. One of those commodities included peanuts, where 50 percent of the crop had been harvested. The remaining 50 percent is yet to be harvested as crop conditions deteriorate and damaged peanut buying points struggle to regain power to dry and grade the peanuts. Many …
USMCA a Framework for Future Trade Deals
A White House adviser says the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a model for future trade agreements. USMCA will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), if approved. Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said this week that other potential agreements will “look very much alike, and very much like this,” according to Politico. His …
USDA Announces Pink Bollworm Eradication Significantly Saving Cotton Farmers in Yearly Control Costs
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that U.S. cotton is free — after more than 100 years — of the devastating pink bollworm. This pest has cost U.S. producers tens of millions of dollars in yearly control costs and yield losses. Thanks to rigorous control and regulatory activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), state departments …
Conaway Determined to Complete Farm Bill
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway remains determined to finish the farm bill this year. During an event in Omaha, Nebraska, Conaway told DTN “there’s plenty of motivation for the four of us to get this farm bill done,” referring to the four leaders of the farm bill conference committee. Conaway says farm bill negotiators are still working through issues …
Timber Damage from Hurricane Michael Estimated at $1.3 Billion
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and the Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, announced the estimated value of timber damage in Florida due to Hurricane Michael is $1.3 billion, impacting nearly 3 million acres of forestland. “This is a catastrophic loss to the forest industry in the Florida Panhandle,” said …
Study: E15 to Provide Limited Ethanol Market Impact
Year-round E15 sales will have a limited ethanol market impact, according to analysts. President Donald Trump recently announced a directive to move towards year-round E15 sales, and industry analysts say that would have a limited impact on the depressed U.S. ethanol market, with record supplies and prices for the fuel hovering near the lowest in a decade. There are more …
NBB to EPA: Small Refinery Exemptions Destroy Demand for Biodiesel
A letter by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) asks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fully account for small refinery exemptions in the annual Renewable Fuel Standard rules. Specifically, the letter addresses EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler, asking him to “end the demand destruction for biodiesel.” The letter asks EPA to set RFS biomass-based diesel volumes for 2020 at 2.8 …